My grandfather,
Salvatore Renzulli, was born in Castelnuovo della Daunia in the providence of
Foggia on November 10, 1872 to Pasquale Renzulli and Angela Maria Mazzone
Renzulli. He married Angelina
Candeloro Martinelli, and the young couple, like so many others of their
generation, planned to escape the poverty of southern Italy at that time by
immigrating to America. Because of
a minor health problem, his wife remained in Italy and Salvatore made the
journey alone, arriving at Ellis Island in March of 1902. Angelina arrived 8 months later with
their first child, Maria Stella.
After a short stay in Philadelphia they settled on a small farm in
Landisville NJ. They had 10
children: Maria Stella, later name Cornelia, was the oldest, Communardo was
born in Philadelphia, and the remaining children were born on the farm: Marx,
Ida, Era, Ferrar, Spartaco, and Olga.
Two children, Cipriano and Angelina died before the age of two.
Although he had very
little formal schooling, my grandfather was an avid reader with a passionate
interest in political and social history and the struggles of the common
man. Nowhere is this more evident
than in the names he chose for his children.
Maria Stella was changed
to Cornelia (Curly to her family) a Roman woman who spoke and worked for a
democratic society 200 years BC.
She is the only woman from that period whose written work has
survived.
Communardo Leonido
(known to family and friends as Ren), the oldest boy, was named after the
Communards, French Revolutionists who fought against the aristocracy. Leonido was a Greek patriot who led the
defense of democratic Sparta.
Era Spiridanova was
named after a woman who led strikes and marches to improve the working
conditions in Europe in the early 1900s.
Marx Libero was named
after Karl Marx, author of Das Kapital and a leading figure in the Socialist
movement that was sweeping Europe in the early 20th century. Libero translates to “free thinker”.
Bruno Ferrer (known to
family and friends as Fatty) was named after Giordano Bruno, a Spanish, Dominican
philosopher who was critical of the church. Francisco Ferrer was a Spanish educator who opposed the
churches role in education. Both
men were eventually executed.
Spartaco Diagoro (Duke
to everyone) was the subject of recent post.
Cipriano, who died in
early childhood, was named after Amilcare Cipriano, an Italian liberal who
fought in Italy, France, and Spain, and like all to the other namesakes, was
eventually executed.
Cipriano Lenin (Chippy
to family and friends) was Cornelia’s first child and Salvatore’s first
grandson. No explanation required
for the middle name.
La Famiglia...circa 1990s From L to R...Duke, Era, Fatty, Ren, Dolly. Seated - Ida
No comments:
Post a Comment